VALRICO, Fla. - Senior years are special for student-athletes.

For Bloomingdale High senior JoJo Raposo, its been extra special.

“Probably the best year of my life, honestly,” JoJo said. “I’ll aways remember it.”

It’s certainly a best-ever year for the Lady Bulls. With JoJo’s help, Bloomingdale made history as the school’s first girls basketball team to advance to a Final Four. 

“I think it just sets the standards high, like, now every team is going to want to beat us,” JoJo said. “So, you’ve got to live up to that and just keep working.”

That mindset and work ethic is what propelled JoJo’s status as one of the top players in the Bay area. As her game reached new heights, she took her Bulls teammates along for the ride.

“Her passion for the game and her passion to win and want to get better is second to none,” head coach Joel Bower said.

JoJo leads her team in scoring and in motivation. Her infectious attitude permeates throughout the team.

“When she gets those opportunities and gets out and runs the floor with the ball in her hand, it’s a special thing,” Bower said. “And they absolutely feed off of it. The energy that she can create is big for us.”

It comes naturally to JoJo. Because this court is her home.

“It’s just the love of the game,” JoJo said. “I’ve been playing since my freshman year and ever since that, I wanted to invest all my time in it.” 

That investment is paying off big time.

“It’s been a great year,” she said.